Bikepacking - a viable alternative to racks & panniers

Stolen from facebook :)

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Stolen from Brendan Leonard http://semi-rad.com/2016/04/chart-did-you-have-a-good-adventure/

Thanks for source :), definitely not mine!

In this particular instance various apps/websites were telling me different things, including signs at the train station saying nothing was going though reading, which would have made for bus replacement services (no bike) despite having booked the bike the night before. So my brother kindly drove me to Reading at 7:30 am on his day off, to find that no, the train had gone through fine.
#omnishambles

But privatisation makes things better right?!
Sorry you had such a shit experience. Thumbs up to your bro though.

Asking to people with Fork mounted cages experience (Salsa/Blackburn):

Have you have had issues with the cages ripping the dry bags used? Which dry bags did you use?

I used one last weekend... didn't rip anything, and was held on with electrical tape. I was quite protective of it riding though..

Affordable, wide, durable, comfy camp mat (maybe inflatable) that doesn't weigh a fuck tonne

Does this exist?

Can't say I've ever slept on a camping mat that was comfy :/

Closest I've ever come was one that was basically a rolled up mattress.

For bike camping?
Probably doesn't exist.
Evazote is pretty cheap and can be comfish in the thicker ranges, but it's bulky and not ultra light.

does anyone have a good drop handlebar rec for touring with a handblebar bag. I usually use a 38cm wide bar...

salsa cowbell 3?

ps. still got a spare lotus handlebar for sale if anyone is interested.

Exped Lite has been fine for me.

In your list, I'd say 'tough' is it's lowest score - it's just a bag of air after all, so check the ground and protect it underneath if on sharp or thorny ground.

second hand neo air

^^ agree on ground protection, a sheet of tyvek or something helps, it weighs nothing, once you've scrumpled it up a bunch it packs small enough and is usually fairly easy to come by at a building site...

Tough is on there cos I'm a proper heffer see.

Last year took German military folding foam Matt but it was too thin, thinking about it might just get another one of those and double them up as they fit on top of my porteur rack and weren't heavy.

Got an air/foam core 3/4 Matt which is not bad but 880g, bulky and always slide off it.

Maybe get two smalls of this one?
https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5027-423/Z-Lite-Sol-Sleeping-Pad

Nice, but pricey.

Have ordered a second German army one - proven durability, quality and compatibility with my setup. Just a bit thin.

Cheers, let us know how the combo works.

drybag size advice - what's the largest dry bag I could fit between 40cm drops and have shifters still work?

also, do the alpkit drybags come with the nessecary straps to attach them or would I also need a joey?

Volume-wise, it's always going to depend on the diameter of the bag. Bear in mind you can always roll the top down further to reduce a bag's width between the bars.

My Alpkit drybag came with straps, but I find them bloody fiddly to use, and have replaced them with some basic luggage straps.

Depending on the size and weight of your load, you can strap a drybag directly to your bars, so a harness like the Joey isn't essential.

thank you

How's the aliexpress bag holding up?

Anyone used the Alpkit Airlok 20l? Worth £19?

Uh? Thermarest Ultralite? standard no?

i used an exped ventair 13l between my drops

http://www.trekitt.co.uk/2621/products/exped-ventair-compression-bag-small.aspx?origin=pla&kwd=&currency=GBP&gclid=CjwKEAjwgtTJBRDRmd6ZtLrGyxwSJAA7Fy-hdkAembYAheHbYk0xLIIo_XNklhnDQOZTXdyQHFdS7RoCy2Lw_wcB

it fit my sleeping bag, liner and puffy jacket well inside my 44 bars

as you can compress it vertically with the straps it should fit any width bars pretty good